Convertible gang lawn mower

ABSTRACT

A convertible gang lawn mower having a supporting vehicle and a plurality of lawn mowers pivotally mounted on the vehicle to be raised and lowered thereon. A drive connection exists between a driving mower and a driven mower, and a limit connector is also attached between the mowers for limiting the relative motion therebetween. Storage supports are included in the machine for storing the drive connector and the limit connector when they are disconnected between the mowers so that only the driving mower is left in mowing position and the driven power is placed in the stored or transport position on the machine. Hydraulic lift cylinders are on the machine for lifting the mowers, and an additional crank-type lift is also on the machine for lifting one of the lowers when the hydraulic cylinders are not in use.

United States Patent Akgulian et a1. 1 51 May 8, 1973 [54] CONVERTIBLEGANG LAWN MOWER [75] Inventors: Saha g C. Akgulian; Donald G. Primary GMancene Haffner, both of Racine, Wis.; Sher- Assistant Ohff man C. Heth,Sturtevant, Wis. Attamey'Arthur Hansmann [73] Assignee:.llzaacglrilseenwlivslanulacturing Company, [57] ABSTRACT A convertiblean lawn mower havin 'a su ortin [22] Filed: 1972 vehicle and a pliralityof lawn moiers 556121115 [21] Appl. No.1 220,193 mounted on the vehicleto be raised and lowered thereon. A drive connection exists between adriving 1 mower and a driven mower, and a limit connector is [58] Fieldof Search ..56/6, 7, 13.6, 16.2, relative "10mm therebeween- StorageSuPPMS are 56/163, 103 126 cluded in the machine for storing the driveconnector and the limit connector when they are disconnected 6References Cited between the mowers so that only the driving mower isleft in mowing position and the driven power is placed UNITED STATESPATENTS in the stored or transport position on the machine. 3,106,811 101963 116111 etal ..56/7 Hydraulic Cylinders are the machine for lifting3,058,281 10/1962 Lewis ...56/13.6 x the mowers, and an additional yplift is also 3,613,337 10/1971 Akgulian et a1. .....56/7 on the machinefor lifting one of the lowers when the 1,944,584 1/1934 Stegeman et a1...56/7 hydraulic cylinders are not in use. 3,007,297 11/1961 Halls et a1...56/DIG. 1 3,583,139 6/1971 Purrer ..56/370 7 Claims, 5 DrawingFigures H Pmmd May a, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patgnted' May a, 19733,731,469

2 Shets-Sheet z CONVERTIBLE GANG LAWN MOWER This invention relates to agang lawn mowing machine, and, more particularly, it relates to a ganglawn mower having a plurality of mowers of which some can be in themowing position while others are in the transport position, and themachine is therefore convertible between one number of operative mowersto another number of operative mowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gang lawn mowing machines are commonlyknown, and they exist in many different forms of construction. One suchexample is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,613,337

' wherein five mowers are shown, and these mowers can be raised from aground-engaging operating position to an elevated transport position.Prior art mowing machines of this type are not known to be convertiblebetween one number of mowers to another number of mowers, for instance,converting from the five gang to a three gang by raising only two of thefive mowers to an inoperative position. That is, when one or two of thefive mowers is raised, this action commonly causes one or more of theremaining mowers to also be raised, so the mowers do not remain on theground for mowing, and therefore the machine is either in the mowingposition or in the transport position, but it is not convertible in thenumber of mowers in the mowing position. This is true since the mowersare connected together so that the raising of one mower willautomatically cause it to pull upon and raise one or more of the othermowers.

Still further, the prior art gang mowing machines are not fullyversatile in being arranged for either manual lift of the mowers or forpower lift, such as hydraulic cylinders. That is, the machines arebasically arranged so that they must have either only a manual lift or ahydraulic lift, and they are not susceptible to being arranged forapplication of either or both of these types of lifts, at least not withthe other features of either lifting or alternatelynot lifting one ormore of the mowers when the other mowers are raised. Still anotherconcern of the prior art is to interrupt the drive to the mower cutterswhen the mower is in the raised position, so that the mower is no longermoving its cutter and 'thus is not unnecessarily wearing itself out, noris it a safety hazard.

Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide an improvedtype of gang mowing machine which considers the aforementioned problemsand which provides answers thereto. Specifically, the present inventionprovides a gang mower which is convertible between the number of mowerswhich can be readily and easily positioned in the mowing position, forinstance, converting a five gang mower to a three gang mower.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gang mowingmachine wherein the mowers are inter connected in their drive and theconnection can be readily and easily disconnected when one or more ofthe mowers is to be placed in an inoperative position, and thedisconnected drive connection can be readily and easily stored on themachine. In addition to this particular desirable feature of thisinvention, it is also a feature that the pivot limit connector betweenthe mowers is readily and easily disconnected and stored on the machine.In the instances of storing both of these connectors, thepresentinvention provides for a secure storing so that the mower drive does notextend to parts which are no longer operating, and there is therefore nowearing of the parts unnecessarily and there is no safety hazard, andthe parts are also stored in a secure position so that they do notvibrate and therefore are in a safe and secure position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a lawn mowingmachine which may be arranged for either a manual lifting of the mowersor for a hydraulic lifting of the mowers, and the connections betweenthe mowers are suitable and desirable for either type of lift.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading thefollowing disclosure in light of the ac- FIG. 1 is a diagramatic topplan view of a mowing machine incorporating one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the hydraulic system for the mowingmachine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front perspective view ofa portion of the machineshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view of a fragment of the machine shown in FIG. 1, similarto that shown in FIG. 3, but being from the side opposite from FIG. 3and showing a portion of one mower in the raised position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end elevational view of the machine shown in FIG.1, but showing a fragment of one of the mowers in the raised position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows the lawnmowing machine of this invention, and it will be seen that there is asupporting vehicle 10 having five reel type lawn mowers 11. Further, thegeneral arrangement, except as described and disclosed herein, issimilar to that disclosed in US. Pat.

No. 3,613,337. Thus the mowers 11 are pivotally mounted on the vehicleor tractor 10 which is of course supported on the ground by means of theground wheels shown, such as the front wheels 12. The two forwardlylocated mowers 11 are mounted on pivot arms 13 and the center mower 11is mounted on a pivot arm 14 and the two side or wing mowers 11 aremounted on respective pivot arms 16. The vehicle 10 is shown to have anengine designated 17, and a drive shaft 18 extends from the engine unit17 and forwardly to a drive take-off 19 which is suitably connected tothe drive shafts 21 connected to the forward mowers 11 and thus drivingthe mowers 11. It will of course be understood that the mowers l1 havecutters, such as shown in the The five mowers are therefore pivotally orarticularly mounted on the vehicle 10, and FIG. 2 shows a schematichydraulic system for presenting and actuating hydraulic lift cylinders,there being one for each of the five mowers 11. Thus, the two frontmowers 11 have two hydraulic lift cylinders 27 suitably connectedbetween the vehicle and the mower lift arms 13; and there is a centermower lift cylinder 28, and there are two wing mower lift cylinders 29,all three of these cylinders 28 and 29 are also suitably connectedbetween the vehicle 10 and the respective mower lift arms 14 and 16, forraising and lowering the respective mowers 11 between the lowered mowingposition and the raised transport position. FIG. 2 also shows ahydraulic pump 31 and a hydraulic valve 32, all connected in thehydraulic system shown so that the valve can control the flow of fluidto the five hydraulic cylinders, for both raising and lowering the fivemowers under the influence of hydraulic pressure, through eitherhydraulic line 33 or 34, which lines extend to opposite ends of thecylinders relative to their pistons 36, as shown in each of the fivecylinders.

FIG. 3 shows details of that heretofore described, and, for thispurpose, the right wing mower is fragmentarily shown and is designated30, and it is seen connected to the fragment of the center mower. Also,the vehicle frame is shown to have a portion 42 presenting a pivot pin43 on which the mower arm is mounted and which is designated 44 in FIGS.3 and 4. The mower 30 has a tube 47 affixed thereto, and the arm 44 hasa shaft telescoped within the tube 47 for pivot mounting of the wingmower 30, as shown. FIG. 4 also shows that a tension spring 54 connectsto a plate 56 on the arm 44 for urging the arm 44 into the substantiallyupright position shown in FIG. 4 to thus place the mower 30 in thetransport or inoperative raised position shown. A pivot limit connector57 is pinned at its opposite ends to the mower 30 and center mower 11 tolimit relative pivotal action between the two mowers. Thus the connector57 engages a slot 58 on brackets 59 on each of the two mowers, and theconnector 57 is shown to have the adjustable threaded connector 128 forthe understandable adjustment in the length of the connector 57 toregulate the limit of pivot between the two mowers, as mentioned. Thusthe mower respective side plates 62 and 63, and their respective frames,such as the pieces designated 64 and 66, are interconnected in themanner shown and described. Also, it will be understood that whenthemowers are in their lowered and mowing position, skids 68 support themowers on the ground, in the usual manner. The mowers have mountingpieces 73 which connect to cross tubes 74, and they also have the usualbed knife 93 extending across the mower, all in a conventional mannerand such as shown in the aforementioned patent.

FIG. 3 shows a bolt 107 supporting a mower drive connection by extendingthrough an opening in the mower plate 62, and a slot 114 in the plate 62receives another bolt 116, all so that a drive connection plate 123 canbe attached to the. side plate 62. This arrangement provides for theconnection of the telescoping shaft 178, 179 between the mowers, andthus it will be seen that the limit connector 57, by its pin 125received in slots 58, will limit the pivot of the mowers and thusprevent the separation of the telescoping shafts. That is, the centermower has a driving shaft 176 extending to a universaljoint 177 which isconnected to the inner telescoping shaft 178 which in turn connects tothe outer telescoping shaft 179 having the universal joint 181. Thejoint 181 is integral with the shaft 183 which provides the reel shaftfor the wing mower 30.

In manually raising the wing mower, it will be noted that there is ahandle 129 on the pivot arm 44, and there is a latch 132 on pivot pin133 on arm 44. The latch 132 engages a pin 134 on the vehicle 10, sothat the arm 44 and its attached mower 30 can be maintained in theraised position shown in FIG. 4. However, when the wing mowers areraised, the limit connector 57 is extended to its fullest so that itwill create an upward pull on the center mower 11 and thus the centermower is also raised. That is, placing the wing mower in transportposition automatically places the center mower in the same position, sothe unit cannot be converted from say a five gang mower to a three gangmower, that is as far as concerns the construction thus far described.

FIG. 5 shows the wing mower opposite from the mower 30 in the raisedposition also, and this wing mower is on the left side of the vehicle,compared to the wing mower 30 on the right side of the vehicle.

However, FIG. 5 shows the drive connector and the pivot limit connectorbetween the two mowers both disconnected. Thus, the drive connectordesignated 201 is of the telescoping shaft type having the outer portion202 and the inner portion 203, identical to the telescoping and splinedpieces 178 and 179 in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 shows that the piece 203 has auniversal joint 204 connected to the wing mower shaft 183 which is thecutter reel shaft for the wing mower. FIG. 5 further shows that theother end of the shaft 201 is disconnected from the center mower shaft176, so there is no drive between the center mower and the raised wingmower. The shaft 20] therefore has a conventional type of quickdisconnect 206 which can be connected to the center mower shaft 176 andwhich can be readily and conventionally disconnected therefrom andplaced in a stored position, as shown in FIG. 5, when the wing mower israised. Thus, FIGS. 1 and 3 show that the vehicle has two storage pins207 which receive each of the drive shafts 179 and 201 when the shaftsare disconnected from the respective ends of the center mower 11. Itwill further be obvious and understood that the quick disconnect 206 isofa conventional construction and preferably is of a snap type whichfits over the extending end of the shaft 176 for being in the driveposition between the mowers, and it also fits on to the pin 207 to be inthe stowed position as seen in FIG. 5, and each wing mower 11 has thisarrangement, as indicated by the two storage pins 207 on the sides ofthe mowing machine and by the quick disconnect 206.

The limit connector 57 is disconnected from the bracket 59 on the wingmower, and the connector is stowed on the center mower as seen in FIG.5. Thus, the center mower has a bracket 208 on a chain guard 209 and apin 211 extends through openings 212 in the connector 57 for storing theconnector in the substantially upright position shown in FIG. 5. Thatis, the drive from the center gear box 24 is through a drive chain 210and onto the sprocket 213 which is mounted on the center mower shaft176, and the chain guard 209 carries the mounting bracket 208 forpinning the connector 57 thereto, as described.

With this arrangement, it will therefore be understood that the two wingmowers can be disconnected from their drive relation with the centermower, by means of the quick disconnect 206, and they can bedisconnected through the limit connectors 57. Since the drive isdisconnected at the center mower, there is no useless driving of thedrive shaft 201, and there is no safety hazard in having the wing mowercutters operating when they are in the raised position. Further, becausethe limit connector 57 is disconnected, the center mower can remain onthe ground in the mowing position, and it would otherwise be raised bythe limit connector 57 when the wing mowers are raised, thus, in thisarrangement, the machine can be converted from the five gang mower to athree gang mower.

Also, the hydraulic cylinders 27, 28 and 29 can be readily incorporatedin the machine and they can be used for power lifting of the mowers, ifdesired. Again, even in that instance, the machine can be converted froma five gang to a three gang machine. Still further, as seen in FIG. 2,when the mowers are raised by the hydraulic system, the front mowerscontract as their pistons 36 move further into the cylinders, but therear lift cylinders 29 extend in the lifting action, so that thehydraulic fluid can move from the rear lift cylinders and to the frontlift cylinders, and thereby an optimum type of operation is achieved,and only a minimum quantity of hydraulic fluid is required for this typeof system.

FIGS. 1 and 5 show that the center mower can still be lifted even thoughthe lift connection is disconnected between the wing mowers and thecenter mower. That is, since the lift or limit connection 57 isdisconnected in FIG. 5, the center mower can still be manually lifted,if there is no hydraulic system applying. Such manual lift includes acrank 216 which is supported on the frame piece 217 and which engages arotatable piece 218 which in turn is connected to a chain 219 attachedto the center mower lift arm 14. Thus, rotation of the crank 216 willrotate the piece 218 about the axis ofthe crank 216 and this will causethe chain 219 to pullup on the lift arm 14, so the center mower can beplaced in a raised or transport position, when desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gang lawn mowing machine, a supporting vehicle, a plurality oflawn mowers with movable cutters, pivot means between said vehicle andsaid mowers for articularly mounting said mowers on said vehicle forsupporting said mowers thereon between a lowered mowing position and araised transport position, said mowers including one driving mower andat least one drive mower powered through said driving mower, a driveconnection between said driving mower and said driven mower fortransmitting the drive between said driven mower, and storage meanssupported on said machine and being arranged to releasably fixedlyreceive said drive connection for storing said drive connection when thelatter is separated from said one of said mowers, so that said drivenmower can be in the raised transport position without having its saidcutter being driven, and thereby convert said gang lawn mower to a fewernumber of operating said lawn mowers.

2. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 1, wherein said driveconnection is a splined telescoping shaft, and said disconnect means isa universal joint quick-disconnect device on the end of said shaft, andsaid storage means is a pin fitted to said quick-disconnect device forstoring said shaft.

3. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 2, including a detachableconnector extending between said driving and said'driven mowers andbeing connected therebetween for limiting relative: motion between thesaid two mowers to secure saidl splined telescoping shaft againstseparation of itself, and additional storage means supported on saidmachine for storing said connector when the latter is detached to permitrelative movement between said two mowers so that said driven mower canbe in the raised transport position while said driving mower is in thelowered mowing position.

4. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 3, including hydrauliccylinders mounted on said machine and being connected with each of saidlawn mowers for raising and lowering of said lawn mowers.

5. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 4, wherein there are five ofsaid mowers, and said hydraulic cylinders being arranged and connectedto have two thereof extend and two thereof contract, upon lifting thefour respective said mowers, and the four said cylinders havinghydraulic connections therebetween for directing the fluid from saidextending said two cylinders to the retracting said two cylinders, foroptimum use of the fluid in the system.

6. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 3, including lifting meansmounted on said machine and connected to said driving mower for raisingthe latter.

7.' The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 1, wherein said machineincludes five said lawn mowers, with three said lawn mowers being in onerow extending across said machine andwith the center one of said threebeing the driving mower and the outer two of said three being the drivenmowers, said disconnect means being on each side of said driving mowerand adjacent thereto, to permit terminating the drive to said cutters ofboth said driven mowers at said driving mower.

1. In a gang lawn mowing machine, a supporting vehicle, a plurality oflawn mowers with movable cutters, pivot means between said vehicle andsaid mowers for articularly mounting said mowers on said vehicle forsupporting said mowers thereon between a lowered mowing position and araised transport position, said mowers including one driving mower andat least one drive mower powered through said driving mower, a driveconnection between said driving mower and said driven mower fortransmitting the drive between said cutters of the said two mowers, theimprovement comprising disconnect means included in said driveconnection and being physically separable from one of said mowers forinterrupting the drive to said cutter of said driven mower, and storagemeans supported on said machine and being arranged to releasably fixedlyreceive said drive connection for storing said drive connection when thelatter is separated from said one of said mowers, so that said drivenmower can be in the raised transport position without having its saidcutter being driven, and thereby convert said gang lawn mower to a fewernumber of operating said lawn mowers.
 2. The gang lawn mower as claimedin claim 1, wherein said drive connection is a splined telescopingshaft, and said disconnect means is a universal joint quick-disconnectdevice on the end of said shaft, and said storage means is a pin fittedto said quick-disconnect device for storing said shaft.
 3. The gang lawnmower as claimed in claim 2, including a detachable connector extendingbetween said driving and said driven mowers and being connectedtherebetween for limiting relative motion between the said two mowers tosecure said splined telescoping shaft against separation of itself, andadditional storage means supported on said machine for storing saidconnector when the latter is detached to permit relative movementbetween said two mowers so that said driven mower can be in the raisedtransport position while said driving mower is in the lowered mowingposition.
 4. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 3, includinghydraulic cylinders mounted on said machine and being connected witheach of said lawn mowers for raising and lowering of said lawn mowers.5. The gang lawn mower as claimed in claim 4, wherein there are five ofsaid mowers, and said hydraulic cylinders being arranged and connectedto have two thereof extend and two thereof contract, upon lifting thefour respective said mowers, and the four said cylinders havinghydraulic connections therebetween for directing the fluid from saidextending said two cylinders to the retracting said two cylinders, foroptimum use of the fluid in the system.
 6. The gang lawn mower asclaimed in claim 3, including lifting means mounted on said machine andconnected to said driving mower for raising the latter.
 7. The gang lawnmower as claimed in claim 1, wherein said machine includes five saidlawn moweRs, with three said lawn mowers being in one row extendingacross said machine and with the center one of said three being thedriving mower and the outer two of said three being the driven mowers,said disconnect means being on each side of said driving mower andadjacent thereto, to permit terminating the drive to said cutters ofboth said driven mowers at said driving mower.